1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an application of a software input panel (SIP) and more particularly, to a method for previewing an output character, and an electronic device.
2. Description of Related Art
With the blooming development in the touch sensing technology, more and more electronic devices are adopting a touch screen in place of a conventional screen and a physical keyboard as an interface to both display an image and allow a user to input a message. The SIP is a technology developed to enable a user to directly input texts or symbols to an electronic device via a touch screen.
The major difference in operation between the SIP and the physical keyboard lies in the following. When the user presses a key on the physical keyboard, he/she is able to feel a feedback from the touch of his/her fingertips, which, in association with instant viewing of the text output on the screen, allows the user to quickly determine if a correct key has been pressed. However, the SIP does not provide such a touch feedback. In addition, the image of the SIP may easily be obstructed by the user's fingers during operation. Hence, it is required to provide a suitable visual feedback effect to prompt the user regarding relevant information of key operations.
Among the current visual feedback effects designed for the SIP, the most common one is that when the user presses a key, the pressed key is highlighted. The highlight effect lasts for a period of time so when the user releases his/her finger, he/she may still see the key that was pressed via the highlight effect. However, in the case where a key may be used to output several characters, merely highlighting the pressed key does not effectively prompt the user which character is to be outputted, causing inconvenience for the user during operation.